Matney's First Week

Matney has had a fun filled first week of life. We have had two outings now to Nanny and Papa G's with a trip for Mommy to Wal-Mart on the same day and then a trip to Seymour yesterday to see Great Aunt Marilyn and Great Uncle Jack.

The past week has included the celebration of Papa G's 60th birthday with a yummy dinner made by Nanny and Auntie Ab. I wasn't much help as Matney had stayed up for 4 hours that afternoon and was so tired she was having a hard time falling asleep. That is she was having a hard time until Daddy walked in the door, picked her up and she was out like a light. Mommy is beginning to think Daddy has a make touch.

Matney has met a great deal of her family in the fast few days. Friday and Saturday we spent time with Great Uncle Brent, Jackie, and Tyler. She was able to meet two great-grandma's (GG Leota and GG Janie). Great Grandma Janie was smitten with Matney immediatly. Matney is named after Grandma Janie's grandmother whose last name was Matney. Satuday, Matney also met her Great Uncle Billy and Great Aunt Brenda. Yesterday as Nanny B and I made a trip to Seymour Matney was able to meet Aunt Linda, Aunt Rowen, and Pat and Steve. Everyone thought she was adorable and of course looked like her Daddy.

Daddy and I are enjoying the fact that we have a digital camera so we can document everything. So far, Matney is still being a little angel. She is only getting up twice at night and eating like a champ. She normally sleeps 3-4 hours at a time before she is fussing to eat. She loves the outdoors which makes me and Daddy very happy as we love to be outside. She can be fussing just a bit or a lot and the minute you step outside she stops and just stares at everything.

We also had our first sponge bath last week before Papa G's birthday party and lost the umbilical cord on Satuday so we now get to have a real bath. We are planning our first real bath for this evening when Daddy gets home so he can see how happy she is when she is being given a bath.

I am thanking God every day for this gift he has given me. I am not sure I remember what life was like before becoming a mother and I am happy to say, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here are some shots of the first few days with Matney.

She doesn't seem to mind having her picture taken so we are going crazy with the camera. I don't have any pictures posted of her feet, but I will post some soon as they are super cute. We are enjoying every minute with her. She is going on a 2 hour stint of being awake after eating so we are hoping this means for even more sleep tonight.

Matney Paige Crawford

Miss Matney Paige Crawford entered the world on Saturday, April 3rd at 1:52 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 22 inches long. She has really long toes and fingers and a beatiful complexion (yes we are a bit partial, but she really does).

Matney has prooven to be a sweet little, cuddly, warm baby who eats, sleeps, and looks around to find anything that will catch her attention. She is very content to stare at your face for hours if she isn't sleeping. She enjoys rooting around when her daddy is holding her and attempting to suck on his nose.

For those of you who haven't heard the story of her arrival, I will explain below. If you have had a difficult delivery or a long delivery; you might want to skip this part as you will probably hold a grudge against Matney and I for a long time.

On Friday afternoon I left work early to go to my 40 week OB appointment. Mom went with me in case the doctor gave us any big news and as support for my peace of mind. My appointment was at 2:50. By 3:15 we were back in the car with news from the doctor that there were no signs on progression and a scheduled induction for April 9th. Mom and I were both disappointed and began the phone calls to all those wanting an update. I think Daddy was a bit disappointed as well when I called him with the news. Mom and I headed home amidst a spring downpour and went to pick up Brayden and Grayson for a sleep over at Nanny and Papa's. We decided to have dinner at our house as Brandon had been off on Friday and offered to make hamburgers. We all played for a few hours while we made dinner and I went in to a tizzy of straightening up the house, making brownies, and playing with the boys. By the time we ate dinner, I was slowing down a lot and didn't want much to eat. The boys and Mom and Dad left shortly after dinner and I headed to bed as my feet were so swollen I could barely walk. At 8:30 to 9 pm I started having what seemed a bit like stomach cramps and my belly would get so hard I could barely breathe. I thought I better time the frequency between these cramps/tightening sensations just in case they were contractions. Upon first measurement we were at 10-12 minutes apart and about 30 seconds in length. I tossed and turned all night, eventually moving to the couch so Brandon could sleep for a few hours. At 5:30 I called my mom to ask what contractions felt like and what I should do. As she had never really been in labor with Abby or I, she wasn't exactly sure either. We decided that as I was contractions every 6-10 minutes at this time that were about 1 minute in length we should probably go to the hospital, if only to be checked out.

When Brandon got up about 7:15 we decided to head to Springfield, but first he had to take a trailer back to town and get breakfast. I proceeded to fold laundry and do a few things around the house; grabbing on to the counter whenever a contraction hit and then continuing on with my task. We left for the hospital at 8:30 and walked in to triage at 9. They took us right to a room, had be changed, and checked my vitals and contractions. Brandon and I were both sure it was in my head and they would just send me home, but we wanted to check to make sure nothing was wrong with our little one. After the nurse completed the triage, she said we were 3-4 cm dialated and 90% effaced. She called the doctor who was on call and he advised to admit me. I was expecting to have to walk around or lay there for hours--not so. We were moved to a labor and delivery suite about 9:45 and hooked up to the IV and the machines. At 10:50, Dr. John Williams walked in and said he was going to break my water and wanted me started on my epidural immediatly--at this point, no one said anything about any progression past a 3-4. At around 11:30 family started arrival and was shuffled out of the room several times. One of the last times they were asked to leave, Mom stayed with me while the nurse examined me at approximately 12:30 or a little after. Mom simply said, "If you could guess, how soon do you think we will have a baby?" Nurse Angela responded with, "Oh, I would say by 3 pm.", she then continued the examine and laughed, looking back up at us and saying, "Well, I was wrong, I think we will have a baby within the next hour or so. She is fully dialated and ready to push." Due to my epidural I had no feeling which was great and thought how in the world will I know to push when I don't even feel a thing. The nurse remarked that she would help me through it and we would push a few times before the doctor walked in.

The family all came back in and said their goodbyes before delivery. Brandon and I prepared for the arrival within a short time and started pushing. After the first push or so, Nurse Angela said we had to stop as she could see Matney's head. I made some comment back to the nurse and we both got to laughing. She kept saying you have to stop laughing or she is going to come before Dr. Williams gets here. About 2 minutes later, Dr. Williams walked in and said to push. At that point, I said I don't think I need to push, it feels like she is just sliding out on her own. He confirmed she was and asked me to push just a little bit. I pushed hard 2 times and was in the middle of a breath when Brandon said, "Honey look, there she is." About the time I looked down the doctor put her on my chest and she started crying. Daddy and I were in awe the minute we saw her slimy little body. I think we were both shocked by how quickly it all went and how easy it was. The nurses and the doctor all kept commenting that we were some of the fastest they had had and were simply amazed.

So far, Matney has been a great little girl who only crys if she is hungry. She sleeps, eats, and wakes up on a perfect schedule. We are praying this continues but know there will be challenges and we are even excited to experience those. My mom is staying with us for a few days until we are all feeling better and have the hang up this Mommy/Daddy thing. We are very happy that our little girl has arrived and that the weather is so beautiful so that we can step outside for fresh air or a change of scenary. I will post pictures on the next posting as this one is so long.

Spring Time

Spring is finally springing around the Crawford household. The grass is turning green and our first of two babies has arrived. Yesterday, on a cold and windy day, our Momma cow "Red" gave birth to a little bull. Brayden says we should name him "Sonny". Brandon and I both wonder if this is due to the calf being born on a rainy day. We are still undecided on the name, but he sure is cute and spunky.


While preparing a few final things for our second impending arrival, I had let the cat in the room. I walked out and went to eat dinner and a while later went back in the room, thinking to myself "hmmm, I know the cat was in here, I just heard her." As I got to looking I noticed there were socks all over the floor and the bedding was messed up. After I saw the bedding, I knew where I would find Bella. You see, she has this obsession with socks (she empties Brandon's laundry basket every night and brings his dirty socks to our bedroom) and she is obsessed with sleeping under the covers. Sometimes we wonder if she is a cat or some other possessed creature. Thus, knowing our friskey feline's habits, I looked under the covers (after grabbing the camera) and this is what I found...

Good thing her daddy wasn't home or he would have hung her by her tail. He doesn't like it when she is in the nursery. He is very worried she will hurt our little Matney.


Here are a few shots of the baby calf from the day he was born and today once he was all cleaned up. I love spring time and babies!!!

Great memories

Above are just a few shots of what the last several weeks have entailed in the Crawford household. We have had a wonderful time at baby showers and Matney has received more than we could have ever imagined.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend the day with Mom and Abby being pampered with a pedicure and lunch. We had a wonderful time being together! Mom even learned what you mean when you tell the coffee shop that you want a non fat skinny half caf vanilla latte! She wrote it down so she would know what to bring to the hospital when Abby has Baby No Name Biggers. :)

We are down to about two weeks until baby Matney makes her arrival (unless she chooses to just stay in and continue baking)! We are so excited and counting the days!

21 days and counting...

I never thought I would be 3 weeks out from having my first child. As a young girl and young woman I dreamed of one day being a mother, but now that it is time for this experience in my life, I am full of more anticipation, excitement, and anxiety than I ever knew possible. My husband is too!

We are both to the point that we want to meet our little girl so much that we aren't sure what to do every night. We can often be found opening the door to her room to peek in or making plans for when she arrives. In the last few days Brandon has taken to talking to my belly or rubbing my belly and saying "Baby Matney come out, I want to meet you." I never thought that my husband who is very much a mans man could be so cute and loveable when it comes to a little baby that he hasn't even met yet. He even made the comment tonight that if I wanted to go and do something out of town after Matney arrives, that he could watch the her while I was gone. He hasn't even changed a diaper, so we will see if that promise lasts!

I am on my weekly appointments now and continue to see how much wonderful weight I have gained (Brandon says I have a lot of work to do once she gets here...). Today, the LNP took my vitals and told me I could wait if I wanted to see the doctor who was gone to a delivery. I am so excited to have little Matney and would love to just go in to labor that I just told the nurse I would leave and be back next week. I didn't want really want the disappointment of finding out nothing was happening. Heck, if something is happening and I don't know it, won't Daddy be excited when I wake him up in the middle of the night?

As a pre-birth treat to myself, I am going for a spa pedicure tomorrow with my Mom and sister. My little piggies have to be in good shape and pretty for our hospital stay :) Abby has pointed out that any mother should have a pedicure before birth as you will have lots of shots of your toes while in labor! (I am still not sure who is supposed to be holding this camera to get these "shots" but I doubt it will be me) I guess she should know however since she is on her third baby; so we are following her advice and getting pampered. Yippy for a girls day!

PS: This blog update is brought to you in part by my big sister who keeps telling me my blog is out of date! Once we have internet again at our house I will update more and update with photos of all of Matney's goodies she has gotten at all of our showers. Boy do we have some wonderful friends and family--little Matney is set for a long time with lots of wonderful and beautiful things.

Baby Shower #1

This past weekend, my wonderful cousins Martha and Sarah hosted Matney's first baby shower. They did such a wonderful job (as they always do)! Everything looked so pretty and they made everyone feel so welcome, not to mention the yummy food they made.

Martha opened up her house to a large group of women (and a few guys) so that we could celebrate the upcoming birth of our little girl. We received so many wonderful gifts that I am still in awe of all the goodies in Matney's room. I must admit, I have been in there several times in the last few days to check everything out or just hold it up and look at it. A special thanks goes out to Kelby who got on his little tractor and plowed the driveway so everyone could make it. I think I even heard there was a little clean-up on the garage!

Here are a few pictures of the exciting event. Thank you to everyone who came to share in this special day for Matney and for all the wonderful gifts!